Russie Reviews: All the Bright Places [Jennifer Niven]

Violet Markey and Theodore Finch meet on the ledge of the school's bell tower. After witnessing both of them get off, the school proclaims Violet as the "hero" who saved the "freak" from potentially falling to his death. 

However, Violet thinks otherwise. After her sister's death and slowly detaching from the rest of her interests, she sees it as Finch being the one who saved her. 

When the two are partnered up for a school project, Finch and Violet take themselves everywhere - in hopes of discovering their own bright place and the 'perfect day' Finch so believes in. 

Good evening, Darlings! Tonight, I'll be reviewing Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places. 

As usual, the Read More link is just right there if you're interested in my thoughts for the book! Be wary for potential spoilers, as always, and I hope you guys enjoy this 'episode' of Russie Reviews. :)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If the topic of death, mental illness or suicide makes you uncomfortable, please feel free to stop reading this review! As much as possible, I'd like for everyone to be as comfortable as possible without the threat of being 'triggered'. To those who wish to stay, please to enjoy this review. <3 

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Holy shit, my feelings threw up all over the place.

Basically, my heart is broken (again) after reading All the Bright Places. I can't even figure out where to start because there is so much going in my head right now. Seriously. 

Alright, so a little bit of background before we get to the actual review. I bought this book a few days ago after it being on my 'to buy' and 'to read' list for a really long time. I started reading on the same day and then finished it today. And yes - I might have gross sobbed my way to the ending. 

Upon searching for people's reactions and own critiques of the book, I saw a handful of people comparing the book to John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. Their main defense was because the book tackled sickness - particularly mental illnesses (although this is apparent in the latter half of the story). Another was because of the 'quirkiness' of our two leads, which was also similar to the 'quirkiness' of TFiOS' leads. 

However, I disagree. 

As someone who enjoyed TFiOS (and also gross sobbed while reading and watching the movie), I didn't really feel the Gus-and-Hazel vibes when it came to Finch-and-Violet. Yes, both Gus Waters and Finch may have this certain quirky-asshole-douche aura when it comes to them, but what divides them as characters is how dark Finch is from the get go. 

We get to explore Finch's own contrasting shades of black and white throughout the duration of the novel. As he constantly changes 'versions' throughout the book, we get to know each side of him deeper and deeper; and then find out he was never truly happy with the versions of him, except for the version which Violet fell in love with. 

Violet, on the other hand, okay, fine, can be likened to Hazel Grace Lancaster. Yes, the two have their own cynicism about them and their own peculiar interests. But Violet is her own character with her own struggles separate from Finch. As we draw further and further away from Finch, we get to know Violet more and what makes her the Violet she is. 

(And Violet, a writer? Hell yes.)

One of the things that got me was the slow build up of Violet and Finch's relationship in the first half of the book. "If you ever tell anyone about this, I'll kill you," she threatens Finch as she kisses his cheek after the bell tower incident. "I don't like you that way," Finch reassures Violet as they travel deeper and deeper into their hometown.

And eventually? They fall for each other. Violet feels sparks while Finch grows more and more concerned for Violet. Violet starts defending Finch while Finch urges her to find more reasons to live on and move on past her sister's death. In their own perfect way, they end up saving each other.

I had an inkling on how the book would end and wished that it wasn't the case. As much as I love realistic endings, I couldn't help but with that for once, happiness would take place this time around because I just wanted them to be happy. 

Finishing, at first, left a bitter taste in my mouth. 

But that all changed when I remembered one of Finch and Violet's conversations:

F: Let me ask you something. Do you think there's such thing as a perfect day? 
V: What?
F: A perfect day. Start to finish. When nothing terrible or sad or ordinary happens. Do you think it's possible?
V: I don't know.
F: Have you ever had one?
V: No.
F: I've never had one, either, but I'm looking for it. 

And then I realized that Finch, in the end, was able to find his own perfect day. 

I'm hoping Violet found hers. 

//slaps self bc TFiOS reference 

Overall? I liked it. I liked it a lot. This is definitely something worth reading, spending money on, and wasting hours reading. I hope you guys get a chance to pick this up and read it as well. :)